Congressional Hearings on I.R.S. Scandal Begin — WASHINGTON — The first Congressional hearing into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny quickly turned into partisan jousting, with House Republicans pressing to expand the inquiry …

Question that revealed IRS scandal was planted, chief admits — Steven Miller, the acting IRS commissioner, said Friday that last week's revelation that the IRS gave special scrutiny to Tea Party groups came from a planted question. — Lois Lerner, an IRS official with oversight of tax-exempt groups …

IRS asked anti-abortion group about content of public prayers — While applying with the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status in 2009, an Iowa-based anti-abortion group was asked to provide information about its members' prayer meetings, documents sent by an IRS official to the organization reveal.

Officials on Benghazi: “We made mistakes, but without malice” — Obama administration officials who were in key positions on Sept. 11, 2012 acknowledge that a range of mistakes were made the night of the attacks on the U.S. missions in Benghazi, and in messaging to Congress and the public in the aftermath.

Kinsley loves austerity because it is “spinach” — The liberal pundit supports a worthless international initiative — So the other day Paul Krugman had a long, very good piece in the New York Review of Books on the arguments and flawed research used to justify austerity measures …

Harry Reid eyeing July for the ‘nuclear option’ — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is increasingly focused on the month of July as the time to exercise the so-called “nuclear option” and revisit filibuster reform, and he has privately told top advisers that he's all but certain to take action …

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in ‘crack cocaine’ video scandal — A video that appears to show Toronto's mayor smoking crack is being shopped around by a group of Somali men involved in the drug trade. … This photo shows Toronto Mayor Rob Ford with a man who, according to a source, is fatal gunshot victim Anthony Smith.

Sarah Palin · 3,548,133 like this — Mr. President, when it rains it pours, but most Americans hold their own umbrellas. Today in the Rose Garden you dismissed the idea of a Special Counsel to investigate the IRS scandal. With that, your galling political hubris shined bright in the midst of today's dark clouds.

Even Obama's umbrellas are a scandal now — Even President Obama's use of umbrellas has become a scandal in the eyes of some Republicans. — On Thursday, during a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, Obama signaled to two Marines and asked them to protect him and his guest from the rain.

BREAKING: The Scandals are Falling Apart! — So says Ezra Klein, who may turn out to be one of the stupidest people ever to be given column inches in a printed medium of any variety. — After reading Klein's desperate attempt to map onto reality his own desires, written in the form …

Syria Begins to Break Apart Under Pressure From War — CAIRO — The black flag of jihad flies over much of northern Syria. In the center of the country, pro-government militias and Hezbollah fighters battle those who threaten their communities. In the northeast, the Kurds have effectively carved out an autonomous zone.

FEC fines John Ensign's family $54,000 — The Federal Election Commission has fined former Sen. John Ensign and his parents $54,000 for improper severance payments to Cindy Hampton, a former campaign aide who had an extramarital affair with the Nevada Republican.

Three life rules from Donald Rumsfeld — To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed. — Subscribe to podcast - Download audio - Embed player - Audio player assistance - Pop-Up — Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld published his memoir, “Known and Unknown” in 2011.